ON MAP ON MISSION: RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

By Carrie Hemphill Pasch

Wherever you are right now, you are being called by God to serve a great mission.

Serving others doesn’t always mean you have to be on a mission trip to Africa, Guatemala or another part of the world helping the poor. That is amazing if you are there right now doing that, but God also wants to use you exactly where you are on the map right now. Whether that point on the map is at work in an office setting, or a doctor or nurse in a hospital, or a trainer at a gym, or a teacher at a school, or a stay-at-home mother/father – wherever you are, you are being called to serve a purpose, more specifically, God’s purpose for your life.

Each one of us has unique talents, characteristics, strengths and weaknesses and God wants to use all those attributes that he created you to have, to help others and in turn, have others help you.

There is no other YOU in this world. You are the only you at this moment right now, exactly where you are, and that’s why the people you come in contact with each day are different than who I come in contact with. Your service is different than mine, but we both share the same mission: to serve God and to help each other.

In the Bible, Jesus says that the greatest commandment in the law is to

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ‘And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.’” (Mark 12:31 NIV)

With everyone you meet and come in touch with, you have the ability to leave a lifelong impression. You have the ability to serve God by spreading the news about Jesus and all he has done for us.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to start pouring out the gospel to every person that you meet, but instead, start spreading Jesus on a smaller scale; how are you reflecting a Christ-like character to others? Are you showing compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, humbleness, generosity, gladness, and love for others?

Even though none of us is wired in all these ways, as we are not perfect beings, we do have some of these attributes and it’s important to always move towards bettering yourself in as many of these ways as possible.

When you begin to treat others with these sincere acts of love, then you will have an influence on them. It’s in these ways that you are also personally growing in a spiritual way, and strengthening your personal relationship with God.

God loves seeing us help and love each other. That is what he created us to do. We are all uniquely different in order to serve a uniquely different purpose.

Whether you are literally on a mission trip right now, or at your office desk, you are part of a global mission.

Don’t ever think that you are not important, or that you don’t have a purpose. Those thoughts are allowing the devil to distract you from God’s purpose for your life.

I encourage you to take a look around, see who God has placed in your life (either for a lifetime or a moment), and ask God how you can help serve that person.

Maybe it’s showing compassion to a friend who is going through a difficult time. Maybe it’s showing patience towards someone who always manages to get on your nerves. Maybe it’s surprising someone with kind, loving words in a card or email. Maybe it’s volunteering your time to help at a local charity. These are all ways of serving right now, exactly where you are.

One other beautiful thing to note is that it is never too late to start serving! Remember, the way you treat people will always be remembered. The relationships you build on earth is the legacy you leave – not the material and temporary things that you accumulate.

Like the greatest commandment says, put your time and energy into serving God and each other. THAT is what your mission on this map is all about.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”–2 Corinthians 4:18